Twice in thirty minutes, Autumn got up and went to check on Jordyn. She stood outside her daughter's closed door and listened to her talking to her friends and responding to Twitch chat. Everything seemed to pertain to whatever game they were currently playing and not the fact that a vampire had nearly eaten her mother.
Going back downstairs, she began to pace the floor and gnaw on her thumbnail. What was going on out there? Was Corbin okay? Why did vampires exist? How long was she supposed to wait?
Autumn reached for her cell phone, intent on calling Mr Feldman, when she spotted movement near the garden. Racing up to the kitchen window, she hopped up on the counter and peered through the faint blue glow that surrounded the cottage.
Two men emerged from the path—and one was carrying the other.
Oh, God—Corbin!
Against Mr Feldman's orders, Autumn raced to the door, unlocked it, and ran out into the night. "Corbin?" she shouted, a sob catching in her throat.
Mr Feldman looked up, a sticky black substance streaked across the front of his shirt and trailing in ribbons down his pants. "Autumn! Get back in the cottage and turn on the shower."
Autumn stopped in her tracks, an icy river of fear coursing down her back. Mr Feldman had Corbin draped over one shoulder and was practically dragging him across the dirt.
"Corbin!" she shrieked, covering her mouth with both hands. "What happened?"
Corbin's shirt and pants were in tatters, hanging off of his body by a thread. Long, deep slashes were carved into his chest and he seemed to be missing a chunk of flesh from his shoulder—right where the vampire bit him. The same black substance oozed from his wounds, bubbling softly in the moonlight.
He wasn't bleeding. Why wasn't he bleeding?
The butler continued to drag his employer down the path. "Don't look at his face, Autumn," the man cautioned. "Don't look."
Bile rose in Autumn's throat.
"Get the shower ready. We have to get the venom out of his system."
Horrified, Autumn swallowed hard and bolted for the cottage. She threw open the front door and ran up the stairs into her bedroom. Down the hall, Jordyn loudly laughed and jokingly taunted a friend.
There wasn't that much in the shower to begin with—just a few bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. Autumn pulled them off of the shower seat and onto the bathroom floor. Spinning around, she began pulling towels down from a nearby rack and threw them on top of the toilet seat. Where was the antiseptic? she wondered, throwing open the medicine cabinet. But it was bare, save for a bottle of Advil and some Band-Aids.
Heavy footsteps accompanied by heavier breathing announced the butler's arrival. Autumn spun around as Mr Feldman dragged Corbin's body into the bathroom. Autumn pressed herself up against the back wall, eyes wide as the butler man-handled Corbin onto the shower seat.
Corbin's head lolled towards his ruined chest, blond hair matted with the black goo. Quickly, Mr Feldman pulled the remains of Corbin's clothes off his body and wrapped them in a bundle. Reaching into the shower, he cranked the handle and pulled the detachable showerhead off its hook.
"Autumn."
Autumn's head snapped up, her whole body shaking.
"I need you to wash all of this off. The venom from the Fallen's bite is preventing Corbin from healing. I have to run up to the house, but I'll be right back." He paused and looked directly at her; the butler's eyes widened slightly as he realized how scared she was. "Autumn," he said gently.
"Wh-what?" she mumbled through numb lips.
"I need you to wash him off. He needs you." Mr Feldman waved the detachable showerhead.
Swallowing hard, Autumn took a step forward; her legs felt as if she had a hundred pounds of concrete strapped to them. She reached inside the stall for the showerhead.
"Autumn."
She looked up into Mr Feldman's dark brown eyes.
"Don't look at his face. Not right now."
On the shower seat, Corbin groaned—the first sound Autumn heard from him this whole time. A sob wracked her body and tears spilled down her face as she stared down at the top of his head. The hands that lay between his knees were thin and bonelike, with long claws that appeared ink-stained.
"I c-can't," she whispered to Mr Feldman.
The butler paused in the hallway. "You need to," he told her and ran down the stairs.
One bony hand reached up, trembling, and touched Autumn's elbow. "Sssstaaaay."
The showerhead dropped from Autumn's hand as Corbin tilted his head up. His handsome face was horribly transformed: hollow cheeks, sallow skin, and an elongated jaw that hung partially open. Fangs had replaced his canines and the rest of his teeth were jagged like broken glass. He looked like a Halloween mask come to life.
Except for his eyes. Those ocean-colored eyes pleaded with her in the mess of his ruined face.
Autumn pressed up against the other side of the stall as the showerhead continued to spray water at their feet.
"Sssstaaaay, pleaaaassse."
Corbin's head dropped and his whole upper body began to tip forward. Autumn gasped and shuffled towards him despite the heaviness in her legs. She thrust both hands up against his ragged chest and pushed Corbin back up against the wall.
"Corbin," she sobbed, running trembling fingers along his disjointed jawline. Why did I leave him there? Why didn't I stay?
"Sssstaaaay," he murmured, tilting his head into her touch.
Swallowing hard, Autumn reached down for the showerhead. She started at the top of his head, watching as the black goo sloughed down his body and swirled into the drain. As the substance washed off, Corbin began to twitch. Autumn tilted the showerhead and aimed it for the large chunk of muscle missing from his shoulder.
There was something wrong here, she noted as she aimed the spray directly into the wound. Why did it look like a broken piece of quartz? Where was the actual muscle? The blood? Why wasn't he even bleeding?
Corbin groaned and his hands twitched. Autumn glanced down to see that his fingers were changing, shifting back into their normal shape right before her eyes.
He's not human, she realized with a start. What the hell is he?
As she tried to process what exactly Corbin was, Autumn noticed that most of the black goo was gone. Leaving the showerhead on the stall floor, she squatted down and looked Corbin in the eye. His face was changing, too—jaw realigning, fangs retracting. "I'm going to get some shampoo, okay?" she whispered, touching his cheek.
She stepped out of the stall and grabbed the nearest bottle of shampoo off the floor. Squirting a dollop in her hand, Autumn got back in and set about washing Corbin's hair. He sighed and tipped forward, pressing his forehead against her stomach.
Gently, Autumn massaged his scalp, then grabbed the showerhead to rinse it off.
"Autumn."
She twisted around to see Mr Feldman standing there with a large travel mug in one hand and a fresh change of clothes on.
"Go outside. I've got this."
Corbin's hands curled around Autumn's hips. "She stays."
Mr Feldman reached into the stall and gently pulled Corbin's hands away. "You need to drink this, my friend. She'll still be here." He looked at Autumn. "Go," he told her softly, but firmly.
Autumn looked down at Corbin's hunched figure. Whatever was going on, the butler knew far more about it than she did. Easing around Mr Feldman's broad figure, Autumn left the bathroom and closed the door behind her.
------------
Mr Feldman emerged a few minutes later and handed her a towel. Autumn accepted it and automatically began drying off her arms.
"Mr Feldman?"
"Yes?" he replied tiredly.
"Is Corbin okay?"
The butler favored her a small smile. "Yes. He'll be out shortly. I'm going to go back to the house to get him some new clothes."
Autumn breathed a sigh of relief. "Mr Feldman?" she asked as he began to walk towards the door. "I need to know what's going on." She had her suspicions, but she needed to hear the word spoken by someone else.
The butler studied her. "Do you want the long or short version?"
"Short for now."
He folded his arms and sighed. "There are two types of vampires in this world: the good ones, called the Knowing, and the bad ones, called the Fallen. Corbin is a Knowing and you were attacked by a Fallen."
"And his guests?"
"Were Knowing, too."
Vampires ate her desserts and pastries. No wonder they had to have blood in them.
Autumn pressed a hand to her forehead. The stories her grandmother had told her were true—who would have believed it?
"I'll be right back," Mr Feldman reminded her and exited the bedroom.
Autumn watched him go, then attempted to finish drying off. Everything she had on was soaked. Keeping one ear open for the shower, Autumn shucked off her clothes and grabbed a fresh pair of underwear, and put on her pajamas. Then she sat on the edge of her bed and waited.
Corbin emerged not long after with only a thick towel wrapped around his narrow hips. His ocean-colored eyes scanned the room and alighted on Autumn at the far end.
"Neville's bringing me some new clothes," he told her awkwardly. "I'll wait downstairs."
Autumn stared at him, taking in his healed physique. Not a trace remained on his muscled body of what she had seen slumped in her shower.
Vampire.
Was it blood in that mug that Mr Feldman brought?
Taking her silence for acquiescence, Corbin began to move towards the door.
"Corbin," she whispered, lower lip beginning to tremble.
Slowly, he turned around, one hand holding the towel up.
Autumn pushed off the bed and ran towards him, throwing her arms around his neck. "I'm so sorry," she sobbed against his shower-warmed skin. "I'm so sorry."
Corbin didn't speak, didn't move. His inaction only made Autumn cry harder. "I shouldn't have said those things," she bawled. "I was going back to apologize. Please, Corbin, I don't want to do this alone anymore."
Slowly, Corbin's hands lifted and he gently pulled her away from his neck. Autumn's shoulders shook as she realized that he was going to set her aside. She royally fucked up and now she was paying the price. Her head lolled sideways as she looked at him through tear-stained lashes.
"No," he told her softly, cupping her cheek with one hand. "It was my fault. I moved too fast. I should have realized what offering a large sum of money would mean to you."
Gently, he wiped the tears from her face and pushed damp curls behind her ears.
Autumn stared into his eyes. "Stay," she pleaded, wrapping her arms around his torso. His heartbeat thumped strongly against her chest.
Corbin paused and looked at her. "Say that again," he asked her softly, tilting her chin up. Familiar electricity danced between them, making every touch hypersensitive.
Through the tears, Autumn whispered, "Stay."
His arms wrapped around her back as his mouth descended on hers, kissing away the pain and sorrow. Autumn sighed, her body molding against his as his lips trailed down her jaw to her throat, leaving a trail of warm fire in its wake. Pulling back slightly, Corbin reached over and pushed the door shut; it closed with a soft click. Shutting the light off, he took her hand and led her to the bed, towel falling forgotten on the floor.